Ukraine says it wants an association agreement with the EU and stable
relations with Russia

The foreign minister of Ukraine’s newly-formed government, Andriy
Deshchytsya, has said his country wants and association agreement with the
EU and stabile relations with Russia. Following a meeting with the Visegrad
goup foreign ministers in Kiev on Friday, Mr. Deshchytsya said the new
Ukrainian government was prepared to open talks with Russia on stabilizing
bilateral relations and in particular finding a peaceful solution to the
unraveling crisis in Crimea. The representatives of the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Hungary and Poland assured Kiev they would provide whatever
assistance was within their means. Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek
said that in view of the situation in Crimea the most pressing issue now
was to maintain the unity of the country. Meanwhile, the EU on Friday
reiterated its offer of a free-trade pact with Ukraine, saying the country
would see the economic benefits within weeks of signing the agreement.

Czech government wants to join criminal prosecution in Promopro case

The Czech government wants to join the criminal prosecution in the ongoing
case involving the company Promopro which won a controversial public order
for the supply of audio-visual equipment during the Czech EU presidency in
2009. The state is claiming 338 million crowns in damages, the amount by
which the order was allegedly overpriced. The suspects have been charged
with scheming in a public tender and auction, abuse of power and breach of
trust. Alexander Vondra, who was responsible for the preparation of the
Czech EU presidency and who was defence minister in 2010-2012, has not been
charged.

Former prime minister Jiří Rusnok joins central bank board

Former prime minister Jiří Rusnok on Friday joined the seven-member board
of the Czech National Bank. The 53-year old economist and former finance
minister was hand-picked for the post by President Miloš Zeman. He
replaces Eva Zamrazilová whose six-year mandate on the board ended in
February. Mr. Rusnok’s appointment, the first of five that the president
is due to make during his term in office, is expected to soften the
board's currently Eurosceptic outlook. The central bank determines the
monetary policy of the country and decides on fundamental monetary policy
measures. It is also responsible for supervision over the entire financial
market, including banks, insurance companies and the capital market.

The US Department of State has attacked Czech inaction over Roma
discrimination

Continuing discrimination and violence against Roma, domestic violence,
failure to deal with cases of human trafficking and corruption are
highlighted as black marks against the Czech Republic in the US state
department’s annual survey of human rights in the world. Societal
discrimination and violence against Roma was a problem last year with human
rights organisations attacking the government’s failure to deal with it,
the report said. Exploitation of illegal and migrant workers and
discrimination against labour unions were also highlighted in the report.
Attempts to stamp out abuses in the police and other forces were taken but
areas of immunity persisted, it added.

Eleven former Tofl gang members found guilty

A court in Brno has found 11 members of the notorious Tofl gang guilty of
bribery, extortion and abuse of office. They received sentences of 3 to 9
years and hefty fines. The gang is named after a former head of the
regional economic crime squad who together with several former colleagues
threatened entrepreneurs. They elicited large sums of money for withdrawing
trumped up charges against them and in some cases even threatened to murder
or abduct family members if the money was not delivered. The court heard
over 100 witnesses in the case which attracted intense media attention.

Police President Petr Lessy to vacate his post on March 1

Police President Petr Lessy is vacating his post as of March 1. He tendered
his resignation in February in order to help restore stability in the force
following a period when, due to a legal hurdle, it had two police chiefs.
Petr Lessy, who was dismissed after being accused of abuse of office and
defamation, cleared his name in court and was reinstated last December, but
his successor Martin Červíček challenged the move in court. Neither will
compete for the post again and a tender will be launched to select a new
police chief.

Staggering number of underqualified teachers

An audit into the education system has revealed that 17,000 teachers at
primary and secondary schools are underqualified. Education Minister Marcel
Chládek said he was shocked by the statistics and was taking measures to
correct the situation. Approximately 7,000 underqualified teachers will
have to leave their posts, 6,000 are already working on upgrading their
qualification and another 4,000 have promised to do so without delay.
Exceptions have been made for teachers over 60 who have taught for at least
15 years.

Czech Post to stop selling tobacco products

Czech Post has announced it will stop selling cigarettes at its outlets
around the country as of next week. The state-owned company launched the
sale tobacco products late last year within a diversification strategy
aimed at consolidating its finances. The sale of tobacco products has come
under fire from both the public and members of Parliament.

Tomáš Berdych defeated Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5 7-5 in
the semi-finals of the ATP Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday. The world
number six has thus reached his second successive Dubai final. He will now
face Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in Saturday's game.

Viktoria Plzeň proceeds to the last 16 of the Europa League after an away
win

In football, Viktoria Plzeň has made it to the last 16 of the Europa
League after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2:1 away from home on Thursday night.
That brought the aggregate score over the two legs to 3:2 in the Czech
team’s favour. Slovan Liberec drew 1:1 away at Dutch team Alkmaar and
exit the competition due to the late goal conceded in their home game last
week.